all public schools in the United States were ordered to
integrate black and white students, ending racial segre-
gation. Since then, U.S. federal courts have used legal
issues to legislate policy over voting districts, job
safety, prison conditions, and environmental matters.
Critics of judicial activism (which is often associated
with the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl War-
ren, or “the Warren Court”) argue that it exceeds the
proper role and authority of the courts and takes
power from the legislature. Judicial activism, therefore,
raises fundamental questions about the distribution of
power among the various branches of government
(legislative, executive, and judicial) and the roles of
each branch of government relative to the others. U.S.
FEDERALISMinvolves a system of CHECKS AND BALANCES
that cause the different functions of the various
branches of government to impinge on each other and,
to a certain extent, to overlap each other, which makes
it difficult to define exact limits of authority in each
branch. Arguments over the extent of the courts’ role
and authority are consequently highlighted by judicial
activism.
Acton, John Emerich Dalbery (Lord) (1834–
1902) British historian and politician
Commonly referred to as Lord Acton, he is best known
for the phrase “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power
tends to corrupt absolutely.” This famous statement,
often quoted by critics of concentrated political
authority, expresses Acton’s basic philosophy. As an
English Catholic, he expressed a belief in the sinful
nature of people, of the tendency of all humans to
want power and to use it to dominate and oppress oth-
ers; therefore, he believed it good to limit the authority
of any state or person, as holding power tends to “cor-
rupt” an individual or to bring out their worst qualities
(pride, arrogance, vanity, tyranny). Like Edmund
BURKE, he was critical of the ROUSSEAUidea of powerful
central government and of the brutal use of state
power in the French Revolution. He appreciated the
American and PURITANideals of liberty of thought and
freedom of conscience; Acton saw the British and
American ideals of divided power, mixed governance,
and pluralism as preventing tyranny and abuse of
authority. Like James MADISON’s conception of counter-
vailing forces and CHECKS AND BALANCESin both society
and the state, Lord Acton approved of wide distribu-
tion of power to preserve individual liberty. These lib-
eral ideals made Acton a popular resource against
20th-century TOTALITARIANregimes (FASCISMand COM-
MUNISM).
Acton grew up in a Catholic English family of
minor nobility and attended a university in Munich,
Germany. In 1895, he became the regius professor
of history at Cambridge University. He was familiar
with leading British public figures, including Foreign
Secretary Granville, Prime Minister Gladstone, and
Queen Victoria. He saw the church as a check on state
power and attended the Vatican Council in Rome,
where he opposed the doctrine of papal infallibility in- He edited the Catholic magazine, The Rambler.
Through his students at Cambridge, Lord Acton
greatly influenced ideas of liberty and pluralism in the
20th century.
Further Readings
Acton, Lord, ed. Essays on Freedom and Power.New York: World
Publishing, 1948.
———. Essays on Church and State,ed. D. Woodruff. New York:
Viking Press, 1952.
Fothergill, Brian, ed. Essays by Diverse Hands: Being the Transac-
tions of the Royal Society of Literature,New Series, vol. XLI.
London: Royal Society of Literature, 1980.
Himmelfarb, G. Lord Acton: A Study in Conscience and Politics.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1952.
Matthew, D. Lord Acton and His Times.Tuscaloosa: University of
Alabama Press, 1968.Adams, John (1735–1826) U.S. president and
political thinker
Born in then British colony Massachusetts of an Eng-
lish PURITANfamily and educated at Harvard College,
Adams was actively involved in the American Re-
volution, he served in the Continental Congress,
contributed to the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, ne-
gotiated the peace treaty with Great Britain, and was
the first U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Adams was vice president to the first U.S. president,
George Washington, and succeeded him as the second
president of the United States (1797–1800). He lost a
second term as president to his political rival, Thomas
JEFFERSON. Both Adams and Jefferson died on the 50th
anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July
4, 1826. Adams was a leader in the early FEDERALIST
Party, which included George Washington and Alexan-
der HAMILTONand advocated the U.S. CONSTITUTION,a
strong national government (as opposed to states
rights) and a strong executive branch or presidency (as4 Acton, John Emerich Dalbery (Lord)